Dispensing spout



April 25, 1961 J. w. ANDERSON DISPENSING SPOUT Filed July 24, 1957INVENTOR. JOHN W. ANDERSON ATTORNEYS United States Patent DISPENSINGSPOUT john W. Anderson, 578 Broadway, Gary, Ind.

Filed July 24, 1957, Ser. Ni 673,976 ,r

4 Claims. (Cl. 222564) This invention relates to dispensing apparatusand more particularly to a novel flow control spout for dispensingcontainers.

Heretofore, nozzles or spouts have been either formed integrally with acontainer or detachably secured thereto for use in directing a limitedflow of material from the container into a preselected area. Since thespouts, when in the dispensing position, are usually in close proximityto a source of moisture, dampness accumulates in the inner confines ofthe spout which causes the material to stick around the opening andultimately prevent flow from the container. In order to overcome this,some designers have made the spout opening relatively large which willadmittedly prevent clogging of the opening but will likewise permit sucha rapid and large flow of material that material is wasted and thesupply in the container is soon exhausted. i

Many attempts have been made to design a dispensing spout that iscapable of emitting a reasonable flow of material that will not beexposed to the disadvantage of easily becoming clogged due to anaccumulation of moisture in the opening of the spout. Many complexdevices have been designed that include traps, chambers and reciprocableballs for restricting the flow in one position and knocking theaccumulated material loose in a dispensing or shifted position. Theseand other similar devices have not solved the problem completely and, inaddition, have added considerable cost to the finished device.

It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to overcome theabove-noted disadvantages of the prior art and to provide an improvedspout that will emit a limited flow of material without being easilyclogged by moisture.

It is another important object of this invention to provide a spoutwherein the material in the container acts as a restraint to anexcessive rate of flow.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a spout that caneither be formed integrally with a container or be made detachable fromthe container without affecting the eflicient operation of the spout.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a spout that can,when used with certain coarse granulated material, act as a measuringapparatus as well as a spout.

And a further object of this invention is to provide a spout that can beapplied to a container in an expeditious manner that is simple inconstruction, inexpensive to manufacture, and extremely efficient inoperation, use,

and service.

This invention also consists in certain other features of constructionand in the combination and arrangement of the several parts to behereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing,and specifically pointed out in the appended claims. In describing theinvention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawingwherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughoutthe several views and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container and spout in separatedposition and showing the invention;

Figure 2 is a-partial cross-sectional view of the spout of Figure 1 withthe spout disposed within the container in stored position, such as forshipment;

Figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the container with thedispensing spout in assembled position;

Figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the dispensing containerin inverted position with the material being dispensed; and

Figure 5 is a modified form of Figure 4 showing larger granulars ofmaterial.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 10 indicates acontainer having a top or end wall 12 formed of relatively stiff sheetmetal such as tin,

plastic, or the like. The wall 12 has an upwardly projecting bead 14formed around a peripheral edge portion thereof which is adapted to beengaged with and to be secured to the upper edge of the container sidewall 16. The height of the bead 14 provides a means for establishing aspacing between the plane of the top surface of the wall 12 and a planelying tangent to the upper edge of the head for a purpose to bedescribed hereinafter.

A spout 18 which forms the basis of this invention is adapted to beaffixed to the wall 12 and for this pur-' pose the wall 12 is formedwith a recessed or depressed portion 19 which is circular in shape andpositioned substantially centrally of said top wall 12. The specificattaching means does not form a part of this invention. However, it isillustrated in the same way as the attaching means disclosed in detailin my copending application, Serial No. 632,684 filed January 7, 1957.

In brief, the attaching means includes a plurality of notches 21 formedin the recessed ledges 22 of the container 10 which ledges coact withoffset segments 24 formed in the flanged end 25 of the dispensing spout18. The spout is attached to the container by inserting the segments 24through the notches 21 in the recessed portion 22 whereupon turning thespout 18 relative to the container 10 will interengage the segments withthe recessed portion.

The spout is stored within the container (see Figure 2) by inserting thedispensing end of the spout 18 through the aperture 27 in the recesseedportion and positioning the flange of the spout on the recessed portionwhereby the underface of the flange of the spout lies substantiallyflush with the plane of the top wall of the container. A sealing disc22, see'Figure 2, can be secured to the top of the container for holdingthe spout 18 in its stored position.

The spout 18 is constructed in a novel way to accomplish the desiredresults and comprises a cylindricallyshaped portion 29 extending axiallya short distance from, and formed integrally with, the outwardly flaredflange or attaching portion 25. The axial length of the cylindricallyshaped portion 29, just referred to as a short distance, as clearlyshown throughout the drawings, is less than its diameter. Anintermediate portion 30 is formed integrally with the cylindricalportion 29 and is gradually tapered or curved inwardly from the point ofconnection with the cylindrical portion 29 toward the dispensing end ofthe spout. Integrally formed with the smaller end of the intermediatetapered portion 30 is a radially inwardly formed lip portion 32 whichterminates in an opening 34 forming the dispensing outlet 35 for thespout. As clearly shown in Figures 2, 3, and 5, the diameter of orifice34 is approximately one-third the diameter of the cylindrically shapedportion 29, thus providing -an ample ledge upon which the granularPafented Apr. 25, 1961 material may collect, as best shown in Figures 4and 5, for the purpose herein described. It is contemplated that theouter surface of the lip portion 32 may lie in a single plane or mayreverse direction such that the inner edge thereof forming the opening34 for the spout will lie in a plane axially spaced inwardly, withrespect to the contents of the container as viewed in Figure 3', fromthe plane lying tangent to the outer extremity of the spout.

With the spout 18 attached in dispensing position on a container ofgranulated material, such as salt, sugar or certain powdered soaps, andthe assembled device tilted into dispensing position, a portion of thematerial will strike the inner side of lip 32 and will stack up thereinto form a wall 37, see Figure 4, about the opening 34 extending back orinwardly from the lip toward the center of the container which wall 37will define a passageway through the spout. The passageway, beingcomposed of relatively coarse granular material will present arelatively rough surface past which the granulated material will fiow asit is dispensed. The rough surface of the passageway will ofier aresistance to the flow of material which will not only slow down orretard the rate of discharge of material but, in combination with thesize of opening 34, will restrict the amount being discharged. Somematerials have been found to form an orifice within the spout of adiameter smaller than the diameter of the opening 34 at the end of thespout. The restricted orifice further reduces the rate and quantity offlow. Upon turning the container to the upright position, the stackedmaterial forming wall 37 within the spout will fall back into thecontainer leaving a clean inner surface to the spout. When the containeris once again turned to the dispensing position, a short time delay willbe experienced as the material'returns to the spout and re-establishes aretarded flow of material.

Since the exposed inner portion of the spout will be shielded by the lip32 around the opening 34 thereof, the ingress of moisture into thecontainer will be substantially reduced. Furthermore, what moisture doesenter through the opening 34 will be picked up by the materialimmediately surrounding the spout which will drop back into thecontainer and be mixed with the other material where it can dry withoutcausing the wetted material to be deposited on the walls of the spout sothat buildup of material around the inner surface of the spout will beavoided. In this Way, the opening in the spout can be made of anysuitable size without an excess of material being emitted from theinverted container while at the same time eliminating the possibility ofclogging of the spout due to moisture and material collecting around theinside of the spout.

It is contemplated, as shown in the modification of Figure 5, that whengranular material of large size, such as coarse granulated soaps, isused in the container, the size of the opening 34 can be selected suchthat the material will build up on the inner side of the lip 32 andintermediate portion 30 until the material completely bridges over theoutlet opening in the spout. An amount of material, approximately equalto the size of the cavity produced while the bridging efiect isaccomplished, is dispensed through the opening 34. It has been foundthat the bridging of the material will occur at substantially the samepoint in the flow of material from the container every time, such thatthe amount of material dispensed each time will be substantially thesame. Thus,

' proved means whereby in any event the rate of flow of materialdispensed from a container will be retarded, while all possibility ofclogging due to moisture entering the end of the nozzle is eliminated.My improved means is relatively simple in structure, requiring nodifficult manufacturing operations to produce it. The resulting deviceis neat in appearance, efficient in operation, and inexpensive toproduce. Various modifications of the structure can, of course, be madewithout departing from the spirit of my invention as pointed out in theappended claims.

I claim:

1, A dispensing spout for attachment to a container for granulatedmaterial comprising a cylindrical tubular body', one end of said bodybeing provided with means for interlocking engagement with cooperativemeans associated with the edges of an opening in said container, thedischarge end of said body having a portion curved inwardly andterminating in an inwardly directed lip defining an orifice coaxial withsaid body, said lip and said curved portion defining a ledge upon whichthe maerial within the container stacks up for resisting flow ofmaterial from the container.

2. A dispensing device for granular materials, comprising a containerhaving attaching means at one end thereof for detachably connecting aspout to the edge of an opening of the container, said spout including atu bular cylindrical portion connected at one end to said attachingmeans, an inwardly curved portion connected to the discharge end of thecylindrical portion and extending inwardly toward the axis of saidcylindrical portion, and a substantially planar ledge portion joinedwith said curved portion and having a discharge aperture sub stantiallycentrally disposed therewith, said curved portion and said ledge portionsuspending a quantity of the contents of the container past which thedischarging materials must pass.

3. A dispensing spout for attachment to an opening in a container forgranular materials, said spout including a cylindrical tubular portionhaving a substantially smooth cylindrical interior, one end of saidportion being provided with means for detachably securing the same tothe opening in the container, the other end of said portion beingintegral with an inwardly curved intermediate portion, said intermediateportion terminating in a continuous inwardly extending flange defining acentrally disposed discharge orifice.

4. A dispensing spout as claimed in claim 1, wherein the diameter ofsaid cylindrical tubular body is greater than the length of the spout.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS898,821 Beatty Sept, 15, 1908 1,600,350 Mensik Sept. 21, 1926 2,649,227Vaughn Aug. 18, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 148,592 Great Britain Feb. 17, 1919UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CRRECTION Patent Nos, 2 98ll5O d April 25 1961 John W Anderson It is hereby certified that errorappears in the above numbered patentrequiring correction and that thesaid Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 2 line 46 for "rece-sseed read Km recessed line 54 for"cylindrically-=" read cm cylindrically =5 a same column 2 line 68beginning with "As clearly shown strike out all to and including"purpose herein described." in line 2 column 38 Signed and sealed this13th day of March 1962,

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER DAVID L. LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

